Isis, Mistress of the Dogs
by Evanescent Darkness
Summary: (teen rocket power fic) Isis gets a job that she thinks she's gonna hate, but ends up liking it anyway.


Isis, Mistress of the Animals  
  
I b In Loving Memory of Bailey, January 2001 - May 28, 2003 - "All dogs go to Heaven." /I /b  
  
Me? With a pack of howling varmints? You guessed it. I know, it sounds really weird and all, but what choice did I have? I needed the cash. No, I didn't kill a bunch of smelly dogs and sell their coats to a fur company, it's quite the opposite.  
  
Okay, it all started out when I saw this really hot outfit at the mall. It was a hot pink shiny halter top with black leather pants. Really, super cute! I could have sworn I left a trail of drool all over the store. One problem: I didn't have the cash. Christmas was far away, and my birthday wasn't until three months. So there was only one way to get that totally kickin' outfit: a job. I looked for days, all over Ocean Shores, for a job. There were no openings anywhere, except for one place. The local animal shelter. You see, this doesn't seem like a good job for me, since I am a clean freak; it seemed more like a job for Sunny, since she's the messy one.  
  
As soon as I walked in I almost fell over from the stench of animal...well, you know, and dead rats. This place really needed help, I could tell. "Hello young lady, can I help you look for a nice dog or cat today?" the receptionist asked. She looked kind of thrown away, like a bag lady or something. "No thanks. I saw your ad in the paper. I'd like to apply for a job," I told her. She smiled and handed me an application as she said, "Here, fill this out and give it back to me and we'll let you know by Thursday. Have a nice day." I said thanks and goodbye and left.  
  
So I filled out the application and took it back. The lady was right. I got a call Thursday saying I got the job. My parents were just as happy as I was. "You need to learn responsibility. This will be good for you," my mom said. On the way there, I imagined myself in that wicked outfit. But then, a scary thought struck me; we have never had any pets in my family except for a cat named Nini, but that was when I was six. I didn't know a thing about animals! I shuddered all the way to the shelter.  
  
I walked in and told the same receptionist that I was the one who came in a couple days ago, and that I had gotten the job. "Okay, little trainee. Follow me to the back. Have you ever had any pets?" she asked. "Uh, I had a cat once," I answered nervously, "My family never has liked dogs much." "I see," she replied. She explained everything to me. I was pretty much a caretaker of a bunch of mutts and stray felines. I won't deny, I'm not much of an animal person. Cats are okay, but anything else has no interest in me.  
  
I was to feed the dogs twice a day, once in the morning at seven, and before I left at four-thirty. I come in every morning at six-thirty, and leave at four-thirty. I clean the cages every two days, and replace the water every two days. I get a thirty minute lunch break at twelve. I worked really hard my first week, and put in about ten hours over time. I finally got my paycheck on Friday. Since I get $4.25 an hour, and I worked ten extra hours, and I work ten hours a day, I got $255.00 that week. I had just enough for the outfit and a peach smoothie from Smoothie Heaven. The outfit is $250.00. I know it seems like a lot, but it was worth it!  
  
No, I didn't quit my job at the shelter and it's not the end of my story. Of course I bought the outfit, and the peach smoothie. I didn't quit my job so soon. You know how I said I wasn't much of an animal person? Well, I wasn't, but now I am. Here's where the real story begins.  
  
I was cleaning out a little Scottish Terrier's cage when I over heard my manager talking about putting down a dog. The dog he was talking about was the one in the next two cages over, some sort of sheep dog. I thought it was a no-kill shelter. How low can someone get to kill an animal, and then lie about it? I couldn't help but listen. "But Jack, we're a no-kill shelter. We can't do that," some short bald guy said. "Well, we're running out of room and money. We just hired a new girl, but that's just taking more money out of my pocket. She's a good help though, so it's either get rid of her or the dog. That dog's been here for almost six months!" Jack, my manager, exclaimed. So, they were going to either fire me or kill a dog. Didn't seem like much of a choice. "We're getting in twice as many dogs each day, and less cages. It's either get rid of some animals, or get rid of an employee." "Can't we just wait a little longer and try to hire some more people?" the bald guy asked. "No, we don't have time. We're going to have to get rid of some animals, permanently," Jack said sternly. I wasn't about to let some creep kill a bunch of innocent dogs and cats. It was time for me to take action.  
  
That night when I got home from work, I called Sunny. "Hey, they're about to kill a bunch of dogs just to save money at the shelter! You have to help me figure out something," I pleaded. Sunny thought for a minute. "Isn't that a no kill shelter? I'll ask my dad if I can adopt one, maybe two. I'll call Otto and ask him if he will help. Maybe even Hunter , Sam, and Mallory too. Call Twist and see what he can do," she suggested. I agreed and called Twister. "Hey Twist you have to help me. They're about to murder a bunch of innocent animals at the shelter. Do you think your parents would agree to adopt one?" I asked. "Maybe, I can ask. I'll ask some people at the surf shop if they want to help too," he said. I thanked him and hung up. Sunny called five minutes later.  
  
"Hey, Otto is going to get a dog, and Hunter is getting one too. Mallory's parents agreed to get her a cat, and Sam is also getting a cat. My dad told me I could get a cat if I wanted to. So that's five gone to good homes already! Why don't you adopt one too?" she said. "Oh, I couldn't. I'm not much of an animal person. Besides, Twister is asking if he can get one too. And he is going to ask people at the surf shop," I indicated. Sunny implored, "Isis, would you rather get an animal and know that it won't die, or would you rather be cold hearted and selfish, and know that it's headed straight to the gas chamber?" Darn, she was good with words. Now I saw why she wrote headlines for the school newspaper. I could have cried. "Oh, alright Ms. Bleeding Heart. Your words have touched me in a way I could not have said myself," I told her truthfully.  
  
The next day at work, I carefully examined each dog and cat. I found the one I wanted most. The animal no one had set their eyes upon and felt love for. The sheep dog that had been sitting in that lonely cage for six months. I looked into his big brown eyes which were slightly covered with dirty white hair. "You're really cute. I never really noticed you that much. Jinkies, that's your new name. I'm going to adopt you," I spoke to the dog as if he was already my own. I could have sworn he smiled and said "Thanks."  
  
I filled out the adoption papers immediately before I left to go home. "Business was booming today! While you were at lunch we had about six or seven people come in to get animals. It's a miracle! Now we have more room for more animals," the receptionist said. I looked at her and said, "Well, when I saw Jinkies, I knew that dog was as good as mine. I fell for the eyes." "Honey, I know what you mean. I have three from here, and I don't know what I'd do with out them," she replied. I filled out the papers and went back to Jinkies' cage. I opened it and said, "Your coming home with me, today." I put him in the front passenger seat, and drove home.  
  
It all ended well, I think. We have more and more stray animals coming in everyday, but we have more people coming in to adopt animals too. I turned out with a cool outfit and a sweet dog. I think the ad's and fliers my friends and I put up help the animals out at the shelter. Now we don't keep an animal any more than two weeks. Sunny got a black Labrador Retriever and named her Delilah, Twist got an orange Tabby cat and named him Rusty, Otto got a Springer Spaniel and named him Indy, Mallory got a black cat & named her Pepper, Sam got a white Persian and named him Al, and Hunter got a mutt and named him Shorty. Oh yeah, I also got a promotion. My manager thought it was a help for me and my friends to put up all the fliers and advertise, so now I am assistant manager, and I got a raise with the promotion: $6.25 an hour. But it's not the money, it's the animals. I guess I am an animal person after all. 


End file.
